Coach’s Firing Was Like A Bad Dream

OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) – Its former head basketball coach has sued Rose State College for slander and discrimination, claiming Rose State President James Cook fired him because someone else had a dream that the coach “went ‘postal’ on campus.”

Plaintiff Calvin Pierce claims the dream was related to Cook by defendant Tommy Smith, an assistant coach, whom Pierce said he had to fire because “Smith was suspected of stealing items from the college.” Smith did not have the dream. A woman, a nonparty to this action, allegedly had it. Pierce claims Cook suspended him, then terminated the basketball program, then reinstated the program but wouldn’t allow him to coach, and ultimately fired him. He claims that Cook and other administrators violated college policy in the firing process. And he claims that the real reason he was fired is that he is “black and large, which creates fear in college employees.” See complaint in Oklahoma County Court.